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April 2024

Monthly News & Updates

Presidential Update

ACC St. Louis Chapter President,

Beverly Garner,

Associate General Counsel, Bunge

April is National Volunteer Month, and ACC is led by volunteers. Volunteers also have jobs, families, friends, and other responsibilities. Yet, we make time to volunteer. We each have unique reasons for volunteering. One reason for volunteering may be that in addition to supporting the community, volunteering provides benefits for the volunteer.


A report from the Mayo Clinic concluded that volunteering reduces stress and increases positive, relaxed feelings by releasing dopamine. By spending time in service to others, volunteers report feeling a sense of meaning and appreciation, which can have a stress-reducing effect. According to the Journal of Health Psychology, volunteering increases social connections, skills, mental and physical wellbeing, satisfaction, confidence, and life expectancy.


Personally, volunteering has increased my self-confidence, and I have developed closer relationships with others. I have gained new skills, become more informed about issues, and increased my effectiveness and efficiency in my work. Most importantly, my mood and energy are elevated before, during and after volunteering. The enthusiasm and creativity of the ACC team specifically is exciting and contagious, which translates to increased positivity in other aspects of my life.


How much time do you have to volunteer? 

Only an hour or two? ACC has something you can do.


What are your interests? What is your why for volunteering? ACC can find or create a place for you.

 

Don’t know what to do to volunteer? ACC will help you identify where to start.



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Upcoming Events


See what's happening in the coming weeks:

04.3.24 | ACC St. Louis CLE: How Not to Get Fired as Corporate Counsel | Virtual - 11:40-11:45 am - Zoom link open for CLE check-in and speaker introductions | 11:45 am - 1:00 pm CLE program | MO CLE approved 1.5 hrs. | Register

04.12.24 | ACC St. Louis CLE: Influencing Positive Corporate Culture | Charles F. Knight Center at Washington University - Throop Drive and Snow Way Drive - St. Louis - 63130 - Validated garage parking - 7:30 am - 1:00 pm - program | Complimentary members-only event | Boxed lunches served | MO CLE approved 3.0 hrs. | Register

04.16.24 | ACC St. Louis CLE: AI in the Workplace: Navigating Legal Landmines | Armstrong Teasdale - 7700 Forsyth Blvd. - Ste. 1800 - 63105 - Validated garage parking - 8:00 - Check-In, Breakfast, Networking / 8:30-9:30 a.m. - program| MO CLE Register

04.24.24 | ACC St. Louis Cinco de Mayo Spring Fiesta Social | Rosalita's Cantina | 12796 Manchester Road - 63131 | 5:30-7:30 pm | Register

05.09.24 | Corporate Counsel Institute | 8:00 am - 5:10 pm | Knight Center at The Ritz Carlton - 100 Carondelet Plaza - 63105 | Validated self parking in Ritz garage | 8.0 hrs. MO CLE | More information coming soon! | Registration deadline: May 6th at 5:00 pm | Register

8:00 am - 5:10 pm at Knight Center at The Ritz Carlton

100 Carondelet Plaza - 63105

Validated self parking in Ritz garage

8.0 hrs. MO CLE

Registration deadline: May 6th at 5:00 pm | Register

Welcome to Our Newest ACC-St. Louis Members!


  • Jim Baermann,CIO and GC - Concordia Publishing House
  • Jackie Coffman, Counsel - Energizer Brands, LLC
  • Amanda Colvin, Corporate Counsel - Enterprise Mobility
  • Edward Dowd, Associate General Counsel - Edward Jones
  • Carine Doyle, Deputy Director - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • James Lang, III, Associate Counsel - Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
  • Ian Larson, Associate General Counsel - CareVet
  • Alicia Morrow, Counsel - CIGNA
  • Kayla Null, Associate Counsel - Protective
  • Arkadia Olsen, Counsel - CIGNA
  • Christopher Pickett, Senior Corporate Counsel - Amazon, Inc.
  • Zack Rennick, General Counsel - Wallis Oil Co., Inc.
  • Todd Reynolds, IP Manager - The Boeing Company
  • Alexandra Ricci, Corporate Counsel - The Dover Companies
  • Andrea Scheder, Counsel - Energizer Brands, LLC
  • Caitlin Stayduhar, Corporate Counsel - Equifax, Inc.
  • Peter Sullivan, Corporate Counsel - Enterprise Mobility
  • Tasha Sutherlin, Corporate Counsel - VSP Vision
  • Tracy Vandover
  • Christian Viehman, Managing Counsel - Reinsurance Group of America, Inc.
  • Laura Villa, General Counsel - Eagle Infrastructure Services, Inc.
  • Jordan Williams, Associate General Counsel - Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC
  • Matthew Wilson, Esq, Managing Counsel - RGA Reinsurance Company

Member Congratulations!!!

Congratulations to ACC-STL Chapter member, Amy Schwent, who was appointed to the role of Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Safety National. Amy now serves as Legal Department Head and legal advisor for corporate business objectives. This includes oversight of corporate regulatory and litigation management, contract review and lifecycle management, the organization’s vendor risk management, and document retention and destruction programs. She also assists with corporate governance matters, data privacy, and security affairs.


"I am excited to take on this new role and to continue to contribute to the success of the team," says Amy.


Amy joined Safety National in 2019 and possesses over 20 years of legal experience.


“We are thrilled to have Amy leading the Legal Department,” said Nick Kriegel, Senior Vice President of Operations and General Counsel. “Her extensive background in complex litigation, insurance regulatory compliance, and contract review and negotiation seamlessly positions her to thrive in this role.”

Successful Pro-Bono Veteran's Clinic!



Eight attorneys and one notary public volunteered to provide a hugely successful

Pro-Bono Veterans Will Clinic on the night of March 19. The much appreciated event, coordinated by the ACC St. Louis Pro-Bono Committee, provided nearly $37,000 in free legal services to well-deserving U.S. military veterans and their spouses!


"We served 30 clients, and produced 28 wills, 24 financial Power of Attorneys (POAs), 26 advanced directives, 26 healthcare POAs and 21 beneficiary deeds/designations, said Scotty Allen, General Counsel of the Missouri Veterans Commission. "Thank you all very much for yet another incredibly successful evening!”


ACC-St. Louis’ longstanding partnership with the Missouri Veterans Commission allows us to provide U.S. military veterans and their spouses with not only estate planning guidance, but also peace of mind.


"Our military families leave the Veterans Wills Clinic with a complete set of estate-planning documents. Our volunteer witnesses, notaries and lawyers leave the clinics humbled by the gratitude of their clients and grateful for the opportunity to serve those who have served,” explained Donte Tamprateep of the Pro Bono Committee.

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Request for Additional Member Programming

Ideas and Activities!


Thanks to our wonderful sponsors and our committees diligently managing their budgets, post-COVID we have funds in our account that exceed our annual budget. ACC policy requires we use these excess funds to provide additional programming and activities to benefit ACC members and our chapter at large.


To that end, we are seeking ideas for programs to benefit the members of the St. Louis Chapter of ACC and the St. Louis community. Think big or small and be creative!


Please complete this form to submit your idea(s) for programming, initiatives, or events/activities:


SUBMIT IDEAS HERE!


The Chapter Board will consider the ideas on a rolling basis.

Copyright Issues with Generative AI

By: (L-R): Matthew Braunel - Partner (St. Louis), Michael Parks, Partner (Chicago), Alex Weidner - Associate (St. Louis)

Several cases are working their way through the Court system that might impact how Generative AI tools are trained, the ways in which users interact with Generative AI tools and the work product that Generative AI tools generate. Most of the legal issues surrounding these cases sound in copyright and that is where this article will focus. 


Copyright Basics


U.S. Copyright law finds its basis in Art. I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution, referred to as the patent and copyright clause. The purpose of this clause, according to the Constitution, is “[t]o promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.” The Copyright Act, Title 17 of the United States Code, provides additional context – permitting copyright protection for original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. 17 U.S.C. § 102. The bar for originality is relatively low. Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., Inc. 499 U.S. 340 (1991) (facts in telephone book are not copyrightable, but compilations of those facts can be). 


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